


The Blurring of Lines

by KicktheMatt



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bullying, Car Accidents, Coma, Dreams, Dreams vs. Reality, I'm so sorry Leo, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Leo pretends he's not gay, M/M, Mentioned Subaki/Niles, Misophonia, One-Sided Niles/Leo, One-Sided Sakura/Leo, Seizures, Slow Burn, Slurs, Suicide, Xander is pansexual and I love him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2018-07-22 16:13:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7445563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KicktheMatt/pseuds/KicktheMatt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>**Previously called "The Blurring of the Lines Between Dreams and Reality"**</p><p>Leo goes to Hoshido only in his dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

The air around Leo was different than it was in his hometown. His hometown, Nohr, was always cold, always desolate, filled to the brim with sad faces and sad places. It was nothing like where Leo was at that moment. He stared up at the sky, a warm breeze trailing over his face. His thin black sweater hugging his skinny frame was enough to keep him warm. The sky was clear and dotted with white puffy clouds, a sight rarely seen to Leo. A flock of birds flew over Leo’s head. Their birdsong lingered as they flew away. Leo looked to his left, seeing an ant crawling on a blade of bright green grass. Normally, Leo would’ve blown to get it away from him, but instead he watched at the insect crawled, trying to reach the top of the blade. The wind picked up a bit, blowing his hair into his eyes. He brushed his soft golden hair out of his eyes and started staring at the sky again, at the clouds blowing through the pale blue sky. This place was serene to Leo. He wanted to stay just a bit longer…Nohr was nothing like this. Suddenly, the sky turned into blackness.

“Mr Leo! Would you like another detention for sleeping in class?”

Leo woke with a start. He blinked up at his History teacher, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, ma’am.”

The teacher, an older woman, made a grunting noise. “Stop falling asleep! You won’t pass this class that way!”

“I beg to differ,” Leo grumbled, earning him a glare from the teacher as she turned back around and began to write on the green chalkboard in an atrocious pink chalk, making an annoying scraping noise as she wrote. Leo tried not to focus on the misophonic-triggering noises and looked down at his desk. It was old, wooden, and covered in little messages and notes that you would expect out of high schoolers. In the top left corner, there was a carved heart with the initials of two people written inside in a cheesy manner. “C + R 4EVR” it said. Underneath it, in sharpie, it said “F DOES NOT APPROVE”. Leo rolled his eyes, looking towards the teacher again, seeing that she wasn’t done writing. Behind her poofy white hair was the title of the unit. Leo didn’t bother to read it, but rather looked around the room, at all of the people furiously scribbling notes down. Everyone, of course, except for Leo and Niles. Leo knew he could pass the class without taking notes. It was a mixture of how he could read into how the teacher’s wrote the tests, memorizing their test writing styles and figuring out answers from there, but also because he already knew the content. He had most likely read the information elsewhere, rendering the class useless. Niles, on the other hand, couldn’t give a flying shit about his classes. The white haired boy with little work ethic, blind in one eye due to a BB gun accident in eighth grade, the kid who’s probably had a fling with every girl and quite a few boys and the straight-A cold-hearted bastard who always wore a cold look in his eyes, who had no friends other than the weird theater kid and the kid across the room who was extremely misophonic and hated anyone who tapped their pencil or clicked their pen were miraculously best friends because of their lack of note-taking in that one class. The clock ticked loudly in the quiet room and Niles watched it. When Leo glanced up at it, there were twenty minutes left in the class.

Leo sighed, the quietness of the room enhancing the sound. He found himself listening in on the chalkboard noises and clenched his fist. He could feel his face flushing in slight anger. He hated that he reacted this way to repeated noises. He sighed again, closing his eyes. He started counting in his head. It was a method the school counselor told him to try to focus on something other than noises. For the most part, it worked. Leo hadn’t needed to go back to the counselor since learning of it. He wondered how it worked as the teacher began speaking. Her words went through one ear and out the other, Leo only picking up certain words. He began to doodle in his notebook. He was drawing the ant on the blade of grass he saw while he napped. Leo’s mind traveled while he sketched out the grass to the place he dreamt of. He wondered where it was. It couldn’t of been Nohr-- the only time the sun shone like that was every couple of years for about a day. Otherwise, it was always depressingly dark and rainy. 

The bell rang, signalling to Leo that it was the end of the day and of that damned class. He closed his notebook and put it in his bag, standing up, ready to leave. As he was about to step out of the classroom, the teacher called out. “Leo!” She called, gesturing for him to come over. She had a concerned look on her face. “Leo,” She began as he approached. Her tone was laced with worry. “Is everything alright? You’ve been sleeping a lot more in class. You also seemed distracted.”

He grunted an “I’m fine” and turned away. Before the teacher could say anything else, he was out the door, walking down the halls briskly. Eventually Niles and Leo’s other friend, a theatrical enthusiast by the name of Odin were on either side of him. Niles and Odin were arguing over something while Leo pretended he didn’t hear them. What he did hear, however, was the sounds of someone coughing in Leo’s direction. He looked up towards the source of the sound to be greeted with a harsh voice. 

“Faggot!” The voice spit, causing Leo to look away. A couple more slurs were thrown his way as he walked.

“Insufferable,” Leo said, catching the attention of Niles and Odin. “Truly insufferable. Those idiots thinking they can get to me with slurs.”

Niles looked back at them. “If you want me to beat them up, just give the word.”

Odin nodded quickly in agreement. “‘I am not throwing away my shot!’” Odin quoted from the musical he was currently obsessed with. Leo racked his mind for what it was called. Benjamin? Washington? Whatever, it didn’t matter. 

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll fight my own battles, thank you. This one I so happen have chosen not to fight,” Leo said, turning away from his friends as he exited the school building. Niles and Odin parted in separate directions, leaving Leo alone as he climbed onto his bus to go home. He remembered that he promised his little sister, Elise, that he would sit next to her that day. He could already see her, halfway down the aisle, sitting in a seat and bouncing up and down. Leo smiled and sat down next to her, to which she immediately hugged him. Leo laughed as she did.

“Hi Leo!” Elise greeted. “How was your day?”

“It was fine, Elise. What about yours?”

Elise began speaking about her day, making wild hand gestures as she spoke. Leo listened intently, putting his full attention on his little sister so that she didn’t feel neglected. He had always been loving towards his siblings, especially since none of them except for the eldest, Xander, felt love from their father. Leo hated to think about it, but ever since he was a small child he noticed how his father seemed to pay less attention to the younger siblings. Xander had always gotten the most affection simply because he was the oldest of the four children in the household. Xander had always gotten the best, if any, presents on things like birthdays and other holidays from father. Leo always felt neglected by his father, so he vowed that he’d never let his sisters feel that way, even if only one of them bothered to pay attention to him at all. He would do anything to give Elise birthday presents, he played with her, even though she was technically getting too old for such things. He tried to spend time with Camilla, his older sister, but she always seemed to brush him off for Elise. That didn’t stop him from making sure his sisters felt like they were loved.

By the end of Elise’s retell of the day, the bus had stopped at their stop. Leo, Elise, and Camilla from the back of the bus stood and walked towards the front, stepping onto the street and then walking towards home. Leo looked up only long enough to see Camilla walk straight up to Elise and completely ignore him. He then stared at his feet and the cracks in the road as he made his way towards home. As soon as he stepped through the doors, he went straight to his room, attempting to avoid anyone at all costs. He opened the hollow wooden door with ease, closing it behind him and throwing his schoolbag on the floor. Despite his nap earlier during class, Leo was tired. He figured it wasn’t the normal kind of tired, though. Tired as in sleepy was heavy eyes, maybe a slight headache, wishing for the day to go on. The kind of tired Leo was feeling was his bones aching, burning eyes, wishing for warmth that could never be acquired. Both, however, could be combatted by sleep. Leo pushed himself off where he was leaning against the door and strode over to his bed, getting under the covers. He stared at the wall for a minute, thinking.

He used to have to share this room with Xander, before his older brother moved away for college. Leo was envious about Xander being the first one out of the house. Even though Xander was treated with more “kindness” by their father, he still felt the neglect and abuse that couldn’t be forgotten. Leo remembered one night staying up, talking to Xander, when Xander revealed that father hit him frequently, making up for it in gifts. It wasn’t like Leo didn’t already know, he could hear Xander being hit at the late hours of the night when their father thought everyone was asleep. Father wasn’t a human ran by a soul, he was a human ran by alcohol. He stayed sober enough through the day, but as soon as night fell, the sounds of drunken sobs could be heard in the house. Xander was the only one brave enough to leave Leo and his shared room to try to comfort their father. It always resulted in Xander getting beaten, though.

Leo had closed his eyes. He hadn’t dared to leave his room after school at all because he was afraid that he would meet the same fate as Xander, forced to be strong on the outside but at night sniffling to sleep and waking up sore and tired with bruises that had to be covered. Leo never wanted to be like that, so he avoided his father at all costs. He could feel himself stop thinking and drifting off into sleep. He allowed himself to be sucked into the blackness, letting himself be away from the real world for a time.

The blackness remained until Leo felt the cold sheets of his bed melt into soft blades of grass. Confused, he opened his eyes to see the same blue sky from his nap before. There were some more clouds, but Leo recognized the same blue color. He blinked a couple times, about to sit up when he heard someone say something to his right. “Lady Sakura! I’ve found someone!”

Before Leo could get up, he heard footsteps pounding on the ground. The first person he saw was a girl with short reddish-pink hair with a headband keeping her bangs out of her eyes. She was wearing something foreign to Leo; it looked vaguely like what people wear to the Japanese festivals from the towns around Nohr. Hell, the entire girl seemed to scream cultural Japanese. She held a small staff in her hands. She knelt next to Leo and he tried to get up. She put a hand on his shoulder. “H-Hold on! Are you hurt?” She said, looking at Leo’s face. 

Leo shook his head. “I’m fine, thank you.” The girl took her hand off of Leo’s shoulder and he sat up, looking around. Behind the girl was two others, one girl with brown hair wearing some sort of pink clothing with what looked like white armor covering the front. There was also a man with long red hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing a sort of long shirt with blue stripes on the sides with a white stripe between them, with two orange tassels in the middle of the torso. He had a sort of armor on the side of his arms, impractical if you asked Leo. “Who are you?” Leo asked, looking towards the pink-haired girl again. 

The brown-haired girl spoke up. “How dare you speak that way to Lady Sakura! You have no respect for royalty!”

 

“P-Peace, Hana.” The pink-haired girl, who Leo presumed was Lady Sakura, said. “I don’t think he’s from around here.”

“I’m right here, y’know. I’m sorry for any informalities. Lady Sakura is correct, I am not from here. Would you kindly tell me where we are?”

The brown-haired girl, Hana, crossed her arms over her chest. “The Kingdom of Hoshido,” She said, sternly.

Hoshido? Leo was sure he’d heard it somewhere. Before Leo could say anything else, he heard a yell from behind him.

“Sakura! Have you found something?”

“And I get called out for informalities…” Leo grumbled. He turned to see behind him and found himself staring at a pair of amber eyes.

The man with the red ponytail smiled. “Not so much a ‘something’ as a ‘someone’, Lord Takumi!” He called.

This “Lord Takumi” had a soft but still stern face, his silver hair pulled into a ponytail with bangs covering most of his forehead. His clothing was strange, he wore a vest-like thing with red tassels and some sort of navy long-sleeved shirt underneath that. Around his waist was what Leo presumed was a deer pelt, tied with a piece of red cloth. He had on leather armguards with blue gloves. He was carrying a golden stick, curved slightly as if there was supposed to be a string attaching the two ends like a bow. From behind him came two more people, a dark blue-haired girl in a ponytail and an orange and blue garment, and a guy with a scar on his cheek with his brown hair tied up in an almost-ponytail wearing a purple version of the clothing that Hana wore. 

Lord Takumi looked at Leo, narrowing his eyes. “Who is this?”

Leo blinked. “My name is Leo.”

“Leo, is it? Why are you here?”

Leo was taken aback at how aggressive Lord Takumi was being. He opened his mouth to say something when Lady Sakura spoke up. “Takumi! I’m s-sure he will tell us in time. He seems disoriented-- he didn’t k-know where he w-was. I suggest we take him back to the p-palace.” A palace? Leo figured he was dealing with royalty at that time.

The dark blue-haired girl spoke up before anyone. “Lady Sakura, is that wise?”

Lord Takumi spoke next. “I don’t think it is. I say we leave him-- he’s probably just a traveler who decided to take a rest.”

Leo shook his head. “I’m sorry if I’m speaking out of turn, but I just woke up here. I...I don’t know how I got here.”

Lady Sakura turned towards Lord Takumi. “See? He could h-have amnesia.”

Lord Takumi grumbled something inaudible. He looked back at Leo, studying him. “Fine. Sakura, go on ahead to tell mother we have a guest. Oboro, Hinata, and I will escort him back.”

Leo stood, wiping the back of his sleeves down to get any excess grass off. Lady Sakura, Hana, and the man with the red ponytail began towards a nearby path, soon walking nearly out of sight. Lord Takumi kept staring at Leo, making Leo feel uncomfortable. “Could you…” Leo began. “Could you not stare at me so intently?”

Lord Takumi simply grunted and turned his head away. “Hinata, Oboro, let’s go,” He said, starting to walk down the same path that Lady Sakura and the people accompanying her went down. Leo walked after him, and Hinata and Oboro fell in behind Leo. They were a couple steps down the path when Leo felt himself getting lightheaded, and the blue sky and sight of Lord Takumi in front of him began flashing to darkness. Leo grabbed towards his head, but felt himself fall forward instead. The last thing he saw before falling into complete darkness was Lord Takumi turning with a concerned look on his face…

Leo jumped, waking with a start in his own bed again. His door was being knocked on by someone. He checked his alarm clock. It read 7:30 at night. It was strange, since in his dream the sky was blue and clear. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. The knocks on the door grew more impatient. “Come in!” Leo called, and the door opened slightly. Elise’s head popped through, her pigtails bouncing slightly.

“Father’s gone,” She said. “Wanna eat dinner with me and Camilla?”

Leo nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be out in a sec.”

Elise smiled at her brother. Her smile was so wide that her eyes were forced closed. “Yay! We’re having that beef stew you like.”

“The one from a couple days ago?” Leo asked, sliding out of bed and pulling the sheets back into position. It was cold in his room. It made him wish he was back in bed, back in his dream, back in Hoshido. He quickly cleared his thoughts of the dream. It was nothing, he told himself. Merely what it was: a dream. He couldn’t go back to Hoshido if he tried.

“Yeah. I hope it doesn’t taste funny to you…” Elise said, stepping out of the way so that Leo could open the door and step out into the hallway.

“I’m sure it’s fine, Elise.”

Elise turned towards him and smiled. “Okay!”

As they walked into the kitchen, the area began to feel strange to Leo. His father typically occupied the seat at the wooden table that Camilla was sitting at. The table had rings of different alcohol stains on it from when their father drank. Elise sat in a chair next to Camilla, who already had a bowl in front of her. She was on her phone while eating, only looking up to see Leo pass. She gave him only a smile and went back to her phone. Leo looked away and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, soon spooning the stew into the bowl and sitting down next to Elise. It was silent as the three ate, except for Camilla’s occasional giggle as she read text messages and the sound of spoons clinking against bowls. Leo had to force himself to not get angry at the noise. As soon as he was done, he excused himself, putting the bowl in the sink and thanking Elise for inviting him to join her for dinner. He went back to his room, tired again. Leo loved his sisters, but sometimes spending time with them, even in silence, was exhausting. As Leo walked into his room, he glanced at the alarm clock again, seeing that it only read 7:50. He sighed, reaching for his bag. He might as well get started on homework before it got too late.

Leo grabbed his notebook, staring at it for a good five minutes before deciding that he really, really didn’t want to do it. He put the notebook back in his bag and walked over to his bed again. It was only 8 at night and Leo already wanted to go to sleep. He shrugged to himself, crawling under the sheets and staring at the ceiling. He would occasionally look over at the alarm clock, watching as the minutes passed by. Soon enough, Leo had laid in his bed for two hours, and he decided that was the time to sleep. He closed his eyes, clearing his mind so he could.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to @Gespenst for editing and beta-ing this chapter! It wouldn't be as great as it is without your help!

Leo opened his eyes to find that he was no longer in his own bed-- this one was much softer. He sat up, looking around the room, and found he didn’t recognize it at all. The wall he was facing was made up of a lattice of wood, the gaps in between made of something thin enough that Leo could make out the shadow of movement behind it. Pulling his curious gaze away, he noted the rest of the room was constructed in a similar style, slim cuts of wood giving it a simple elegance. The floor seemed to consist of bamboo woven into mats, instead of the carpet or hardwood he was more used to seeing. In fact, the whole place reminded Leo of pictures he’d seen in textbooks about Japan. After a moment of quiet observation, the wall panel - which was apparently a door, it seemed - slid open, revealing Lord Takumi. It seemed he was continuing that strange dream from before.

“You’re awake,” He said, looking at Leo intently.

“It seems I am. Where am I? Was I out for long?”

“You’re in a guest room in Castle Shirasagi, where we were heading before you...blacked out. You were only out for a couple hours. I’ll go tell Sakura you’re awake.” He looked towards what Leo was assumed the hallway outside of the room. “You just fainted out of nowhere. Something might be wrong--”

“I can assure you, Lord Takumi, that won’t be necessary,” Leo said, reaching a hand out as if it to stop him. He didn’t like the idea of being a greater burden than he already was.

Takumi turned abruptly. “You have no right to say my name.”

Leo looked baffled. “When can I have it, then?” Him and his smartass mouth. But how else was he meant to address him?

Takumi scoffed before replying, “At this rate? Never.” He turned and left the room, slamming the door shut. 

Leo sighed, looking around again, wondering he could do about his situation now. He hoped that, at least, Takumi’s sister didn’t share the same animosity as her brother towards him. A few minutes later, Lady Sakura opened the door and hurried over to his bed; the worried look on her face easily dispelling his previous concerns. Takumi simply stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame and watching them. Lady Sakura was still clutching the strange-looking rod she held earlier, and Leo spared a passing thought wondering what it was for. 

“A-Are you feeling okay? Apparently you t-took quite the fall.” She gestured towards Leo’s forehead, which he raised a hand to feel. There was a piece of cotton gauze taped onto his skin that he hadn’t noticed before. With that small amount of pressure, he found it stung a little but managed to hide his wince.

“I’m feeling fine. Thank you for helping me, Lady Sakura,” Leo said. 

“O-Oh! Please, just call me Sakura.” She said. 

Leo nodded. “Well then, thank you, Sakura.”

“You’re welcome, Leo.” Sakura smiled sweetly and Leo found himself reminded a little of Elise for a moment. She asked Leo a couple follow-up questions after that, just to make sure he was feeling alright, with instructions for him to get plenty of rest. After a bit she left, leaving Takumi to watch Leo, who explained he wasn’t about to leave him unattended and risk him trying something. Takumi had taken seat in a chair over in the corner, occasionally looking up at Leo when he caught movement from him out of the corner of his eye; Leo assuming it was to make sure him getting comfortable wasn’t something ‘suspicious’. Leo considered going to sleep, but he wasn’t tired at all - there were still too many questions rattling around his head. He tried to stand up, but began to feel slightly lightheaded in just the attempt. He thought that fainting again wasn’t a good idea, so he instead decided to try to talk to Takumi. Leo cleared his throat, gaining Takumi’s attention. 

“Are you just going to sit there and do relatively nothing?”

“I told you; I’m making sure you don’t try anything,” Takumi countered.

“I know you are. I was merely wondering if simply watching was the best use of your time.”

Takumi squinted at Leo. “I don’t like your tone.”

Leo shook his head. “I mean no disrespect.”

“Sure you don’t.” His condescending tone clearly implying he didn’t believe him in the slightest. It took Leo everything he had to not snap back at him. God, Lord Takumi was arrogant! Leo glared at him, then looked away with disgust. He could feel Takumi’s amber eyes boring right into him. When Leo dared to look again, he found Takumi had looked away. There was a tinge of redness in Takumi’s cheeks that signaled his anger. When he felt he had gathered his composure enough, Leo spoke again. “Why don’t you trust me?”

Takumi’s head whipped around. “How could I not? It’s not every day we get an amnesiac stranger out of nowhere. You could be planning something.”

“I’m not.”

“How can I be sure of that?” Takumi interjected, leaning forward in his seat and glaring at Leo. His arms were crossed over his chest. “You could be trying to lure me into a false sense of security to make me trust you, only to turn and stab me in the back!”

Leo sighed, trying to control himself, and wondered if this guy ever tired himself out getting so riled up all the time. He conceded the point though, as it did make sense. “I can understand where you’re coming from. I wouldn’t trust me either if I were in your position, it is only logical.”

“Exactly why I shouldn’t trust you,” Takumi said, turning away. Leo continued to look at him consideringly. Takumi noticed and frowned in return. “Why are you staring at me?”

“Just figuring out your weaknesses,” Leo answered, allowing himself a smirk.

Takumi’s scowl deepened. “Shut up.”

There was silence and for once Leo was beginning to feel awkward for it. Typically, he liked silence; it was what kept Leo sane during his misophonic fits. However, the fact that there was someone in the room so intently focused on him, with no hidden amount of dislike, made Leo feel uncomfortable and out of place. Why did his own dream have to do this to him? 

“So…” Leo said, trying to quickly think up something to say to fill the void. His mind ran through generic questions he could ask. “What’s your favorite food?” He finally decided on, figuring it was probably safe enough to ask. 

“Why do you wanna know?” Takumi asked in a suspicious tone, eyes narrowing a fraction.

Leo shrugged, trying to play off how tense he felt. “You’re here to make sure I don’t do anything, like go around burning local villages down or something, right? Why shouldn’t I learn something about the person who’s taking time out of his surely very, very busy schedule for such a noble cause? Here, I’ll even go first: I like beef stew.”

Takumi shook his head, looking away from Leo. “Why are you doing this, exactly?”

“I’m giving you my most valuable secrets so in the event I turn out to be evil you know how to defeat me.”

That earned a small chuckle from Takumi. “Fine. I like miso soup.”

“Mee-so soup? Never heard of it. What’s in it?”

“Miso,” Takumi corrected. “It’s a dashi broth with tofu. What’s in beef stew?”

“It’s really just a broth with beef and vegetables. Mee-so soup sounds delicious.”

The door soon slid opened, revealing a red-haired girl. Her hair was cut short and she wore something similar to one of the men who had been accompanying Sakura before, except in this case her clothing was crimson red. Perhaps it was a type of uniform? “Takumi! Ryoma is looking for you. I’ll take care of our guest.” Her voice was slightly rough. 

Takumi looked from Leo to the red-haired stranger. “I’ll be there in a second. Thank you, Hinoka.” He stood with a nod, and allowed Hinoka to enter the room before slipping past her and out the door. She moved to sit in the recently vacated chair, observing Leo as he watched after Takumi as he left. 

Hinoka’s voice filtered through his distracted thoughts. “He give you any trouble?”

“Besides telling me doesn’t trust me, not really.”

She gave him a knowing smile. “He tends to be like that. He’s not a person who trusts easily, but please bear with him. I’m Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura’s older sister. You’re Leo, right?”

“That’s correct. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hinoka.”

There was silence. “I hope Takumi didn’t say anything too offensive to you. He sometimes can’t hold his tongue.”

“It’s perfectly fine. I assume he’ll be at ease once I leave.”

Hinoka looked down and a grim expression crossed her face. It took a moment for her to voice what she was thinking about. “Y’know, I talked to Sakura earlier. I don’t know if she told you this, but it turns out she worries your head trauma is worse than you might think. She suspects you damaged your head so badly that you started having seizures.”

Leo looked at Hinoka, eyes wide. “W-What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t there, but...Sakura said after you hit your head, you began to shake uncontrollably. You would stop after a minute, but then it would start up again. You woke up after your fifth one. Judging by your reaction, it wasn’t a condition you had previously I’m guessing.”

Leo looked down at his hands. He couldn’t believe it. “So what does that mean for me?”

“She wants to keep you at the castle, under supervision, just in case you have another one.”

“So I can’t leave?”

 

“Not until she deems you fit to leave,” Hinoka said. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

Leo shook his head. He wasn’t sure what this meant-- if he could never leave the castle, then what did that mean for him? This seemed to be a dream world, but his pain when he touched the bandage was so real- everything felt real… Did it mean he’d be stuck in the dream, unable to wake up? Would he be able to see his family again? A sudden dread seized him at the thought.

“But, my family…” Leo choked out.

“You have a family?” Hinoka asked.

“I do, but not here… I think. Will I ever be able to see them again?”

“I don’t know, Leo. If you can remember where they are, we can order for them to come get you.”

Leo tried to calm his thoughts for a moment. This was a dream. He didn’t think that he would be able to see his family in this world, but they would still be there when he woke up; it was going to be fine. “Forget I said anything,” He said. “Don’t worry about it, Hinoka.”

Hinoka had a confused look on her face. “Okay…” She said, clearly a little suspicious. 

After a short while of only slightly stilted conversation, Takumi returned, and Leo would have felt relieved for the interruption if it didn’t mean more glaring. He was holding a tray of food that Leo didn’t recognize but smelled absolutely amazing. Hinoka looked at her brother expectantly. 

“It was nothing of importance,” Takumi said, answering his sister’s silent question. He glared at Leo, who glared back despite knowing how childish it seemed in response.  
Hinoka rolled her eyes and stood, stretching her arms out. “I have duties to attend to. I assume you’re coming back to watch over Leo, brother?”

“You’re correct,” He confirmed, breaking his glare to nod at her.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Hinoka replied, and as she passed by Takumi she muttered something to him. It was too quiet for Leo to hear, but he certainly saw the way it made Takumi bristle visibly.

“As if I didn’t know that!” He hissed at her, grumbling to himself under his breath. Hinoka shook her head, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Takumi walked over to the bed and nearly dropped the tray on Leo’s lap, before sitting in the chair from before. Leo looked over the food, trying to pick what to eat first. There was a small bowl of soup in the corner of the tray, which Leo assumed was the ‘miso’ soup Takumi had mentioned. There was no spoon, just the bowl. Leo had read somewhere the the Japanese typically just drank the soup as if it were from a cup, then used chopsticks to eat the solid pieces. Leo figured the same went for here. He picked up the bowl carefully, bringing it up to his lips to drink. He soon discovered the marvelous taste. It was slightly salty-sweet with a creamy texture. He drank more of it when he heard Takumi speak.

“You know, I could’ve poisoned that.”

Leo put the bowl down. “I’m sure Sakura would be upset if you poisoned her patient.”

“She would. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it.” Takumi crossed his arms with a small smile.

“And you accuse me of being evil. Perhaps the real antagonist is you!” Leo said, but there was no real bite to his words. Takumi simply shook his head, leaving Leo to eat. When he was done, he moved the empty tray over to the side. Takumi eventually spoke up.  
“So, you asked me about food. Do you read?”

Leo nodded. “Yes, I do. I read all kinds of things, but history seems to pique my interest the most. Particularly wars and military history.”

Takumi smirked. “Let me guess-- it’s because you have an interest in studying the strategy behind them?”

Leo’s mouth opened in shock, caught off-guard. “Uh...yes, actually. How did you know?”

 

“You seem like that kind of person. I read history for that reason, also. I bet we have different hobbies, though.” His change in demeanor surprised him. It seemed to Leo this whole time that Takumi had hated him, but this revelation of shared interests… now it seemed like there might be a chance Leo could find a friend in him. 

“My favorite game is chess. It’s a tactical board game--” Leo was cut off by Takumi.

“That sounds a lot like shogi,” Takumi said and Leo tried not to marvel at how the smirk turned into a smile.

“Do you like this show-gee thing?”

“I’m the best player in my family,” He laughed, a touch of pride in his voice, “Who knew we’d have so much in common?”

Leo couldn’t help but grin back. “It’s hard to hate someone who has such excellent taste, isn’t it?”

Takumi’s smile turned wry. “Yeah.”

Leo chuckled a bit to himself. “Does this mean I have the right to say your name?”

“I guess it does, Leo. I guess it does.”

“Alright, Lord Takumi.”

Takumi broke their gaze, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just... Takumi is fine. Since my sisters are alright with it too.”

“Takumi.” Leo smiled at him. This change was one he certainly welcomed, and he could feel the tension he didn’t realise he was still holding drain away.

The two continued to talk through the afternoon, laughing and sharing stories about themselves. Too soon, however, the sun was starting to set as the pair were getting into an interesting debate on some ancient legends Takumi had mentioned. An attendant came to door to inform Takumi that he was being called for dinner; Leo vaguely recalled the blue-haired girl from before, when they had been escorting Leo back here before he had passed out… or was it more accurate to say woke up? The thought was disrupted as Takumi stood and made to leave.  
“Someone will come with food to make sure you’re okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, Leo.”

“See you tomorrow,” Leo said, slightly wistful. He had been enjoying Takumi’s company, and was loathe to interrupt such a fascinating conversation, but realised he was in no position to really stop the other right now. As Takumi left, however, Leo began to feel lightheaded again. He decided the best thing would likely be to lay down, hoping the dizziness would eventually wear off. Closing his eyes, Leo felt it ease away as tiredness overwhelmed him instead.

In what seemed like no time at all, the soft sheets of the bed melted into familiar rougher ones, sheets that Leo recognized as his own. His alarm clock was buzzing, ringing out harshly, signaling that it was time to get up. His bleary eyes sought out the clock, as if checking it despite the alarm would somehow not make it so early in the morning. Realizing that what he had experienced was all a dream, he felt a twist of sadness in his chest. Whatever that dream was, it was the best he’d had in awhile.

After pushing the button on his alarm clock to stop the ringing, he sat up and set about getting ready for the day. Looking into the mirror in the corner of the room after pulling on his shirt to make sure it was most definitely on the right way, Leo noticed his hair was a mess with the headband still in it. He scowled at himself for forgetting to remove it, and took it off to make his hair look suitable. With the help of a comb Leo managed to tame the knots and kinks from sleep sufficiently, replacing the hairband again once he was done. Leo checked the time again, noticing he still had plenty of time before he needed to leave to get to the bus stop, and so sat back down on his bed. It was tempting to close his eyes and try to go back to sleep, but the realization that he would probably not have the same dream as he did the night before made him decide against it. Still, it didn’t stop him from considering what had transpired while he was asleep.

For some reason, it seemed undoubtedly real. Hoshido, the pain in his head when he pressed the bandage, the sheets of the bed, the taste of the food, everything. It confused as well as concerned him. He began to worry about what Hinoka told him. Would he have seizures in the waking world? No, of course not. It was a vivid, practically lucid dream; but it was just that. A dream. Leo subconsciously reached towards the same place where he had the cotton pressed against his skin earlier. To his surprise, he found that there was a scratch there. There was nothing pressed against it now. Leo sighed, standing and making his way to the bathroom across the hall, hoping he would find some bandaids in the medicine cabinet. 

To his dismay, there were none, but as he looked in the mirror, he found the scratch was virtually unnoticeable if his bangs were positioned the right way. Leo messed with his hair for a moment until he found the perfect positioning for his bangs, humming in approval to himself. As he returned to his room to grab his bag, he could hear Elise walking down the hall, her footsteps slightly quicker and lighter than Camilla’s. He waited until they were past his door before he opened it to followed them out to the bus stop. 

The bus ride was dull as it often was, since Elise tended to sit with Camilla in the mornings and usually on the way home too. It was only occasionally she decided to sit with Leo, but it seemed the morning routine would not be disturbed today. Without her enthusiastic chatter to distract him, Leo decided to pass the time with the homework from last night, managing to finish up and shove his books in his bag just as the bus pulled up to the school. Leo sighed, steeling himself for the walk to where he typically met up with Niles and Odin as he got off the bus.  
It took about thirty seconds of walking before the first slur was thrown.  
“Hey, faggot!” Leo clenched his fist and kept walking. He found ignoring them was always the best option. Most of the time the slurs stopped, but there were very rare events where the slurs kept getting thrown. Naturally this morning would be one of those rare times.

“What’chu think you’re running from, you fuckin’ twink?” Came another coarse insult. Leo shook his head, grumbling and willing himself not to listen. He didn’t even know the names of the people who were tormenting him, only that he remembered it started happening during freshman year, when he decided to put a headband in his hair. All of a sudden, he was being targeted by unknown individuals. It didn’t bother Leo much. He knew that they were just desperate for attention; it was probably some herd mentality thing affecting them.

He finally reached his friends’ meeting point, under a tree near the entrance to the school, the two of them were already there. Odin was waving his arms around in overly dramatic sweeps as he probably quoted something from the musical he was obsessed with. The tormentors never bothered to follow Leo all of the way here. They either got bored or got intimidated by Niles’ death stare.

Niles was the first one to notice Leo. “Hey,” He greeted simply, giving a little hand gesture then going back to folding his arms across his chest.

“I bid you good morning, my friend!” Odin’s greeting was enthusiastic and melodramatic. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, for I have amazing news!”

“Hello, Niles, Odin. What’s the news?” Leo asked, picking at the strap on his bag.

Odin smiled wide. “I, the great Odin Dark, have bested my greatest rival for the lead in the school play! The tale of lovers from clashing worlds, one of Capulets, one of Montagues, the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet! I have earned the role of the great Romeo!”

“Congrats, but wouldn’t you want Mercutio? Isn’t he much more emotional?” Leo asked.

Odin looked like he had just witnessed a murder. “BLASPHEMY! Romeo is just as emotional! He is just as dramatic!”

Niles smiled. “Whatever you say, buddy.” He looked towards Leo, glancing at his forehead, where he saw the scratch. “Hey, Leo, you fall and hit your head or something?” he gestured towards the scratch.

Leo subconsciously reached for the scratch. “Oh, this? I ran into a door while reading.” There was no way he was going to explain his dreams to Niles and Odin. If they didn’t secretly think he was crazy before, they surely would then. 

“Classic Leo. Make sure you stay sitting while reading next time, alright?” Niles said, grinning at him teasingly. 

“Can’t promise anything,” Leo said as the morning bell rang and they began to head inside. With separate morning classes, they parted in the hallway, leaving Leo to go to his first class alone and hoping it wouldn’t be too much to suffer through.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long hiatus! I lost the writing vibe, but now it's back! I hope you guys still like this! Cx

The day went by slowly to Leo’s dismay. The classes dragged on without end, seemingly wearing Leo out. As his last class approached, he found that his head was bobbing as he tried to stay awake. Leo’s tolerance level for anything dropped with his energy. He found himself scowling more at the people in the hallway than he did normally. It didn’t help that his tormentors had found him right as he was about to enter his last class. “Hi, twink!” One of them said, shoving Leo against the cold green lockers. Leo didn’t look at the tormentor’s face. He snapped his head to the side, refusing to lock eyes with the tormentor. The locks were digging into his back. People were staring. The tormentor’s arm was shoved across Leo’s shoulders, pinning him to the lockers. “What?” The tormentor asked. “Not gonna respond? Not even a noise? Don’t you like being pinned against the wall, faggot?”

Leo grunted, trying to push himself off of the lockers and away from the tormentor’s grasp. “Isn’t there a better insult you could use other than ‘faggot’ or ‘twink’?”

“Smart one, aren’t ya? Answer me this, smart boy: Do you like this?” The tormentor pressed his body against Leo. Their faces were inches away. Leo looked down, closing his eyes, taking everything he had to not snap. “What? You gonna orgasm?”

Suddenly, Leo felt the weight being lifted off of his body. He recognized the white hair of Niles. “The fuck you think you’re doing?” Niles growled, his fists clenched in anger. The tormentors had a look of fear in their eyes.

“Shit, fuck this!” One of them said, running away down the hall. Two others followed, but the last of them stayed behind. It was the one who pushed Leo against the locker.

“So your boyfriend came and saved the day, huh, twinklord?” The tormentor said, crossing his arms and smirking. 

Niles squinted at the tormentor. “Go jack off elsewhere. Nobody cares about what you think.”

The tormentor scoffed, turning and going down the hall to join his friends. Niles turned towards Leo and grabbed his wrist, dragging him and leading him into the classroom. The people were still staring, whispering about what had just taken place. Leo shook his wrist from Niles’ grasp. “Thanks,” Leo muttered, walking over to his seat and sitting. Niles was left at the entrance of the classroom, staring after Leo. 

Leo pretended to not notice. He closed his eyes, thoroughly exhausted from the encounter. The bell rang, signalling for the last class to begin. Leo heard the clicks of the teacher’s heels on the floor, walking past him. If the teacher noticed that Leo’s eyes were closed, she obviously didn’t care anymore. The teacher began talking, her rising and lowering tone dragging Leo in an out of sleep. He tried to pay attention for once, but it was another unit on something he already knew about, so he saw no point in paying attention. Sleep eventually won him over. The hard surface of his desk was melting away, soon becoming a soft feather pillow. Leo opened his eyes, sitting up. He was face down into a pillow, his body wrapped with sheets. The sheets from Hoshido, Leo thought. He looked up, and in the dim light he could make out the form of...someone. They were kneeling near the bed, but stood when Leo sat up.

“Takumi?” Leo guessed, squinting in the darkness.

“N-No,” The voice said. It was Sakura. “Sorry to wake you. I was just ch-checking on you.”

Leo looked around. Through a window against the wall opposite the door, Leo could see the colors of an early morning. It confused Leo, wasn’t it the afternoon in Nohr?

 

“It’s fine, Sakura. What time is it?”

Sakura gazed out the window. “I d-don’t know exactly, but it’s early morning.”

Early morning? Leo figured it was just the dream messing with him. “Is it okay for you to be here?”

Sakura shook her head to say “no”. “I’m not s-supposed to be here without either of my retainers, Hana or Subaki, accompanying me. But I didn’t want to wake them.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble for my sake,” Leo said. He shrugged. “But if you insist, I’m not stopping you.”

Sakura smiled. “So, how are you f-feeling?” She asked, kneeling by the bed again.

“Good,” Leo replied, simply. 

“No lightheadedness?”

Leo recalled the lightheadedness from that night-- or morning? He didn’t know. “There was an episode of lightheadedness earlier, but it hasn’t appeared since.”

Sakura looked down, slightly grim. “I assume Hinoka t-told you? About the seizures?”

Leo nodded in dismay. “She did,” He said, then pausing before he spoke again. “Thank you, Sakura, for the measures you’re taking to help me. I appreciate it.”

The pink-haired girl’s grim look changed to a warm one, with a smile to match. “Y-You’re welcome, Leo.” 

Leo began to feel very tired. He let out a yawn, quickly using an arm to cover his mouth to not seem rude to Sakura. “My apologies,” Leo said afterwards.

“N-No need to apologize! I woke you unexpectedly at s-such an early hour. I’ll leave you to sleep.” She then stood, walking over to the door. She slid it open, then looked back at Leo. “Good n-night-- or morning, rather.”

Leo smiled at her. “Good morning and goodnight, Sakura.”

Sakura smiled back, sliding the door closed and walking off to wherever she had to be. Leo put his head back on the pillow, closing his eyes and finding that as he fell into sleep, the sheets melted into nothingness, and that the final bell was ringing. Leo quickly lifted his head, gathering his things before walking out of the class. Niles caught up to him.

“Hey, is everything okay?” He asked, putting a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “You were out the entire class period. You don’t do that.”

Niles was right-- Leo never napped bell to bell. Leo shrugged off Niles’ hand. “I’m fine, I just didn’t eat breakfast. I’ve been tired all day,” Leo said, looking at his friend. 

Niles looked at Leo, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. “Alright,” He said, not questioning any further.

Fortunately for Leo, he found that his tormentors decided they had bothered him enough that day, leaving him be as he exited the school and went onto his bus. He was alone on the bus ride home. As soon as the bus reached his stop, it was like every other day: Leo being a couple steps behind Camilla and Elise as they walked back home.

As soon as Leo reached his room, he decided to not follow in yesterday’s footsteps and immediately go to sleep. He instead grabbed his homework out of his bag, sitting down as his desk and beginning to work on it. His mind wandered back to Hoshido as he answered question after question about a war Leo had already read about. Why was he always going there as he slept? It was a strangely particular place to have reoccurring dreams at. To the best of Leo’s knowledge, reoccurring dreams were typically of an event, but of a place and of characters? It couldn’t help but strike Leo as odd.

He finished his homework, putting it back in his bag before getting up with the intention of getting something to eat. He opened the door to his room and stepped out into the hallway when he saw Elise peeking her head around the corner, watching something in the kitchen. Leo walked up to her, and she turned and put a finger to her lips to signal for silence. Leo then heard barely audible whispers from the kitchen. 

One voice was his father’s, filled with anger. The other Leo hadn’t heard since the summer before: Xander. 

Leo listened in on the conversation with Elise. Father said something Leo couldn’t quite catch, then Xander spoke. “Father, I’m not going to give you anything. I don’t owe you anything at all.”

“I raised you after your whore of a mother left. I was the one who put clothes on your back and food on your plate. You owe me everything,” Father’s voice had risen slightly, adding bite to his words.

“You barely did anything. You made me raise Elise. I rose myself. I’m the one making sure that everyone had school supplies this year. I’m the one putting myself through college, and hell, who’s going to put Camilla and Leo and Elise through college too! You didn’t do anything! You never did!”

Leo jumped when he heard a bang on the table, probably from father slamming down a bottle. “Might I remind you what I didn’t do when you told me you were gay? You’re lucky that I’m allowing you to stand in my house.”

“Do NOT bring that up!” Xander nearly yelled. 

Elise looked towards Leo with tears in her eyes. She reached for her hidden older brother and hugged him, trying to keep her whimpers soft. Leo held her, continuing to listen to the conversation.

“You filthy faggot!” Father’s words were slurred. “Go ahead. Go to your siblings. They’re all going to end up like you. Ungrateful little pieces of shit!”

Leo looked down towards Elise. “Hey, head back to your room.” He petted her hair slightly. “Please. This is obviously making you upset.”

Elise nodded, letting go of Leo and walking back to her room. Leo hesitated a moment before going back to his own room. He closed his door behind him, taking a deep breath. He leaned against it, thinking about the conversation he had just heard.

He then heard a couple knocks on his door. Waiting a moment, Leo turned and opened the door to see Xander. He looked different from when Leo had last seen him. Xander’s hair was longer, for one. The bags under his eyes were more noticeable. He seemed...tired, overall. Every little detail screamed exhaustion. Xander gave a small smile. “Hello, brother,” He said, opening his arms for a hug.

Leo gave him a quick hug. “It’s good to see you again, Xander. It’s been far too long.”

“Indeed it has.”

Leo’s tone grew serious. “I heard your argument with father.”

Xander sighed, running a hand through his curls. “Wanna take a drive? I’ll explain everything.”

Leo nodded. “Give me a second.” He walked over to his desk chair, where a black and purple jacket was slung across the back. He put it on, soon noticing Xander’s chuckles. “What?” Leo asked, Xander’s smile being infectious.

“Your jacket is on backwards.”

Leo sighed, whispering a “damn it” as he took the jacket off and turned it inside-out. Once it was on correctly, Leo followed Xander outside, sneaking past the kitchen. They walked in the darkness over to Xander’s car, a small vehicle painted all black. Leo got in the passenger side while Xander got in the driver’s. Xander started up the car and started driving. There were a couple minutes of silence before Xander spoke up. “What all did you hear?”

“Something about you owing father something on.”

Xander sighed. “So...you heard about me--”

Leo cut him off. “Before you begin, I accept you no matter what.”

“Thank you, Leo.”

Leo cracked a smile. “It’s no problem. Y’know, some of the world’s greatest geniuses were thought to be gay. Leonardo Da Vinci, Shakespeare is thought to be bisexual, there’s plenty more.”

Xander laughed slightly. “Are you calling me a genius?”

Leo laughed alongside him. “Yeah.”

Afterwards, they were silent for a moment. “I’m not gay, but pansexual. The attraction to all genders,” Xander said, drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel. “Father just doesn’t want to admit there’s anything but ‘straight’ and ‘gay’.”

Leo nodded. “What did he mean, by you ‘owing’ him?”

Xander shook his head. “He thinks I should give him money to ‘benefit’ everyone. I know he’s just gonna blow it on booze, though.”

“Ah,” Leo said. “I can see why you wouldn’t give him anything then.” 

“Yeah.” Xander turned a corner. “It’s infuriating. He expects me to take care of him, after everything he’s done to me.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t even come home,” Leo said. “I wouldn’t of been able to bear to see him if he did that stuff to me.”

Xander let out a deep breath. “I almost didn’t. But I couldn’t leave you or Elise or Camilla behind.” He paused. “I’m not even sure if I love him anymore. I only love you, Elise, and Camilla. I only love father because I’m obligated to.”

“I understand,” Leo said. He wondered if he felt the same, or if any of his father’s children loved him. 

There was more silence. Leo gazed out the window, lost in thought. He closed his eyes, almost dozing off when he heard a swerve. He sat up, just in time to see headlights and then a car hitting them head-on.


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH LORD OKAY
> 
> Not my best work...but I hope you guys enjoy nonetheless! 
> 
> Thank you to the anon on tumblr who gave me motivation to finish this chapter and work on the next ;w; you're the real mvp
> 
> Also, if you would like to talk to me about my fic or fire emblem in general, head over to my tumblr @ kickthematt!I love to talk to people C:
> 
> For now, enjoy the chapter!

Leo woke with a start in the sheets he recognized as the ones from Hoshido. He sat up quickly, earning him lightheaded-ness. His vision began to go black by little dots. Leo’s heart beat quickly, as he raised a hand to feel his pulse it shook violently. His breathing was heavy. What little he could see behind the dots was shaking. His entire body hurt from tenseness. He remembered hearing a sound, a flash of amber, and a yell. “Get Sakura! Azama! Anyone!”

Takumi, Leo thought. The name escaped his lips before his vision went fully black. 

In the state of blackness, Leo could see blurs of something. A flash of blue, a piercing screech of pain. Leo covered his ears, beginning to count in his head before the frustration set in. 1...2...3...4...

It passed quickly.

The next thing Leo remembered was chaos around him. Sakura was standing over him, a worried look on her face as she spoke. “Leo? Leo! Are you alright?” Next to her was a man with brown hair that stood up all over. 

“Lady Sakura, I’m sure he’s fine!” Said the man. He held a rod that was similar to Sakura’s. “He seems to be okay already!”

Sakura shook her head. “No, Azama. This was the worst one he’s h-had yet.” She mumbled something inaudible to Leo afterwards. Leo looked around, trying to take in his surroundings. The area had settled slightly, less chaos and more focus on Leo. 

“I-I’m fine,” Leo said. “I think.”

Sakura reached to her side, where she grabbed a cup. From where Leo laid, he could smell the concoction in the cup that wasn’t very appealing to him. He tried to sit up, to where Sakura helped him sit up the rest of the way. The sheets were new. Leo didn’t have time to question before the unappealing cup was placed in his hands. He looked at Sakura questioningly. The man next to her, Azama, spoke up. “Ah, the great saiko-keishi-to! A beautiful blend of medical tea. Smells strange, sure, also tastes strange, but it’ll do wonders for you!”

“Saiko-keishi-to…” Leo repeated, bringing the steaming tea to his lips and taking a drink. It tasted awful. He almost spit it back out. He forced himself to swallow, making a noise of dissatisfaction. He figured he needed all of the tea, so he took another revolting sip. Leo soon noticed Sakura’s worried face. “What happened? I just remember shaking, then everything went black…” Leo’s mind went to the car crash prior. “My brother! I just remembered, he...I…” It was no use. Leo didn’t think he was anywhere near Nohr here in Hoshido. 

“Your br-brother? What about him?” Sakura asked.

“I don’t...I can’t explain. I feel, like almost...Never mind. Can someone explain what happened?”

“Ah! Quite simple, really. You had a seizure, and according to Lady Sakura, a pretty bad one at that.” Azama chuckled slightly. “Y’know, they say seizures could be a link to supernatural powers! Powers that not even magic users can use!”

“You really think so?” Sakura asked, grabbing the cup from Leo as he finished it off. 

Azama shrugged, “Possibly. You never truly know until you see it yourself, no?”

Leo’s mind wandered to the blue flash before he saw Takumi rush into the room. The silver-haired prince seemed relieved when he saw Leo sitting up. But Takumi didn’t look at Leo long; his gaze was quickly shifted to his sister and Azama. “Everything alright?”

Azama smiled--had he even stopped smiling?-- and waved a hand. “Perfectly fine. He’s talking, breathing, drinking, meaning he can eat...all basic bodily functions that need to happen for life! He’s okay.”

Takumi nodded. “Good to hear.”

“He’ll n-need to stay in bed even longer now, I fear,” Sakura said. “B-But it’s a good thing you were there, Takumi! Leo would’ve been seriously hur-hurt if you hadn’t called for one of us when you did!”

Leo looked over to Takumi, who caught his eye for a moment. It would’ve seemed awkward to him at any other time, but there was a sense of...comfort. “Thank you, Takumi.”

Takumi smiled slightly and looked away. “You’re welcome.” He turned towards Sakura and Azama again. “I’m going to go train, let me know if you need help with anything.” Takumi glanced at Leo but quickly shifted his gaze away again. Leo might’ve been imagining it, but he could almost swear he saw Takumi have a slight red blush.

Leo raised his eyebrow in question, but quickly dismissed the thought as the prince rushed away from the room. From beside the bed, Azama stood. 

“Well! Everything seems to be fine here. I will be taking my leave, if nothing else is needed!” He walked out of the room without another word.

Leo stared after Azama quizzically. “He seems...far too laid back.”

“He’s very calm, almost to the poi-point of uncaring.” Sakura placed the cup next to her. “Leo, is there anything you re-remember from your sei-seizure?”

“Is there not much known about them?” Leo asked.

Sakura shook her head. “Unfortunately. You are the f-first person to have seizures in this area for a whi-while. If you can tell me anything, it would further impr-prove medical research.”

Leo looked at his hands. “Where I’m from, there’s more advanced research. I didn’t know I was susceptible to them, but in my schooling, we were required to know how to handle seizures.”

“Wh-where do you come from?” She asked. 

There was a beat of silence. “Nohr,” Leo said, simply. “A small town in the middle of the country. Dark, desolate, and not a very happy place. I doubt it’s anywhere near here.”

“I’ve n-never heard of it. Must be very f-far,” Sakura stood, grabbing the cup. “Y-You should rest. Someone will be here to watch over you and help you i-if you need it.”

Leo nodded. “Thank you for everything, Sakura.”

As the princess exited the room, Leo glanced from place to place, before sighing and laying down. He heard someone walk in as he closed his eyes, hoping for sleep.


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short rip
> 
> FUN FACT THIS FIC HAS THE MOST WORDS I'VE EVER WRITTEN FOR A FANWORK EVER AYYYY

There was nothing but darkness surrounding Leo. He couldn’t move his body-- he didn’t even know if he had a body at this point. He felt...light, like a gust of wind could blow him away. There were muffled sounds all around him, coming from all directions at the same time. They bounced and echoed like a shout in a cavern, then disappeared into the void. He never got frightened easily, but the lack of a physical body and muffled noises tended to strike fear into anyone.

“Hello?” Leo tried to call out, but the words would not rise from within him. 

There was a high pitched, repetitive beep from his surroundings. The irritation began to rise.

1…2...3...4...5...


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes:
> 
> Pink Tulips - Platonic/Familial Love  
> Yellow Tulips - One Sided Love  
> Black Tulips - Strength  
> Red Tulips - Romantic Love

Every time Leo slept, he was brought back to the oblivion. Otherwise, he remained in Hoshido.

It had been days, maybe weeks, and Leo hadn’t seen the other world. He spent his days on bedrest speaking with Sakura or her retainers, Hana and Subaki. He was eventually taken off of bedrest, able to walk, after some time without seizures.

Leo spent most of the times in Castle Shirasagi’s gardens, for it was the closest to his room. The days were routine: He’d wake up, spend time in the garden in the morning, eat something, then back to the gardens. It took him only a few days to explore the entirety of the garden. The colors began blending together, the blossom petals on the air could only catch his interest so many times. Sakura frequently joined him, when she wasn’t doing anything required of her. The two had been gazing over a section of the garden, filled with tulips, or Chūrippu, as Sakura had called them. There were many pink Chūrippu, but in the center was a lonely yellow one.

Leo turned to look at Sakura. She was staring at the yellow Chūrippu, a certain sadness in her eyes. “Sakura?” Leo asked, knocking her out of her trance. 

The princess snapped her head towards Leo, a certain worriedness lacing her voice as she spoke. “Yes?’

“I was just thinking, I never really thanked you or your siblings for your hospitality,” he said. “So I would like to take this moment now to thank you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, or why I am here, but I am truly grateful for you caring for me.”

Sakura looked down, blushing slightly. “Y-You don’t need to thank me. I’m do-doing what any other healer wou-would do.”

“I feel the need to thank you, though. I am so lost, I don’t know what to do.”

Sakura glanced at the yellow Chūrippu again. “If you’re seeking guidance, I-I’m not the best person to as-ask. You may want to ta-talk to my mother’s retainer, Orochi. She i-is known to have guidance fo-for all.”

“Can you take me to her?” Leo asked.

Sakura nodded. “Yes, follow me.” She led Leo back into the castle, taking him down twists and turns until she came upon an unidentifiable door panel. Before she could say anything, the panel slid open slightly, revealing a purple haired woman behind it. 

“Sakura! I see you brought him. Need compatibility? Or is there something else?” The woman, presumably Orochi, looked from the flushed princess to Leo. 

Leo spoke up. “I’m looking for...some kind of guidance. Sakura told me you could help?”

“Of course! Orochi can always help!” Orochi said, sliding the panel open wider. “Come in, Leo!”

Sakura looked from Orochi to Leo, then went back the way she and Leo had taken. 

“Oh, precious flower,” she cooed. “She’s so embarrassed! So flushed. So...lovestruck. But without any more delay, come in!” 

“Thank you,” Leo said, walking into the room. “Out of curiosity, have we spoken before? You know my name.”

Orochi smirked. “No, I’ve never spoken to you directly. But I’ve heard about you. Quite a lot, actually.” She gestured for Leo to sit on a cushion on the floor, by a low table.

Leo sat, looking around the dark room. There were some thin pieces of wood with unrecognizable symbols carved into them on the table. The only light seemed to come from a lamp nearby. 

Orochi lit some wooden sticks, leaving them to smoke. “What can I help you with, Leo?”

Leo looked at his hands in his lap. “I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t belong in Hoshido.”

There was silence as Orochi turned her head slightly. “What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know how to explain it. I come from another world. I come from a town called Nohr, in a country called the United States of America, which is nothing like Hoshido.” 

“I knew you were a stranger here, but I didn’t know where you came from. Let me guess: You don’t know what brought you here? You don’t know what you’re supposed to do?”

Leo looked at the diviner. “Yes...I feel like I’m here for a reason. Why else would I be transferred from my world to here?”

Orochi nodded. “Well, I am gifted with prophecy, but I can’t tell you your purpose in Hoshido. There could be infinite reasons for your appearance, but...I have an idea of why you’re here.”

“What do you think?”  
“Hoshido is on the brink of civil war. Our queen, Mikoto, my liege, is sick and dying, as is much of the country. Merchants and travelers have been dropping dead in the outskirts of towns for months. Hoshido has been divided into two parties, Culturalists and Reformists, each run by the brothers of the Hoshidan royal family. Ryoma, the crown prince, is leading the Culturalists. He wants Hoshido to remain as it is after my liege’s death, as a culturally rich country, but Prince Takumi wishes for Hoshido to go forward with the Reformists. We are behind, industrial-wise, and and our medical advancements haven’t gone far. The people are dying, our economy is in shambles, and the royal family is splitting. I can’t be sure, but I feel like you’re here to help rebuild Hoshido, either with the Culturalists or the Reformists.”

The words seemed to echo around the room. Leo’s eyes widened and he looked down. “I can’t be that.”

Orochi shook her head. “Why else would you be here?”

Leo stood, clenching his fist. “I-I don’t know. I never asked to be here!”

“We can’t always change our fates, we sometimes must accept it,” Orochi said, calmly.

Leo looked at the diviner, then turned and ran. He didn’t remember what way was which, where anything was. He just went down corridor after corridor, looking for something that seemed familiar. Nothing did, so he slid open the nearest door to find a dark room. On the floor was a bed similar to the one Leo was in, but a boy with white hair was in it. He couldn’t of been much older than Leo, but his sleeping face seemed to make him younger. He wasn’t stirring, and his chest was hardly moving as he breathed. A single beam of light flittered over his face through a window.

Leo, out of curiosity, took a few steps towards the sleeping boy. He began to recognize more features. A soft jaw, pale skin. He seemed familiar. Then it hit Leo--

He looked like someone in Leo’s school.

A popular kid-- very good friends with seemingly everyone. He had a crush on Niles, and had a few flings with him, but Niles wasn’t as invested as him. His name was Corrin. He had told off some of Leo’s tormentors before, but their interactions never passed that. 

“Leo?” A timid voice came from behind. Leo turned to see Sakura with her staff. 

“O-Oh, Sakura, I’m sorry, I thought this was my room--”

Sakura took a couple steps forward, towards the bed. “He’s my ol-older brother, Kamui. He’s been unresponsive for a couple years. I-I visit him sometimes, seeing if he’s aw-awake.”

Leo looked at Corrin-- or Kamui?-- and back at Sakura. “I’m sorry. It must be terribly hard.”

Sakura nodded. “It is.” There was silence for a couple moments. “Allow m-me to escort you to your room. It’s n-not far from here.”

“Thank you, Sakura,” Leo said as Sakura turned to leave. He followed her around a corner. She slid open a door, and allowed him in. As Leo passed the doorway into the room, he saw a bouquet of the black Chūrippu, with a single red Chūrippu thrown in. 

“The black Chūrippu means strength. The red...means love.” Sakura looked down, her face flushing red.

Leo looked at the bouquet again, then back at the princess. “Sakura…”

By then, the princess was already gone.


	7. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just on a ROLL with these chapters
> 
> Well yeah. Pls don't hate me

“So she just gave you the flowers and left?”

Sakura hadn’t spoken to Leo for days after the flower incident. If she came to his room, it was for the smallest possible time to give him the saiko-keishi-to tea. Then she was gone, with only a confused Leo looking after her.

Instead of Sakura herself watching over and caring for Leo, Takumi had stepped in once again. He seemed exhausted, like he had be working non-stop for the past weeks. He figured it was over the threat of civil war, with Takumi being the head of the Reformists. Leo hadn’t dared ask him about it yet. He didn’t want the prince to react badly, or maybe even become more stressed than he already seemed.

Leo nodded as Takumi spoke. “Yes, she did. I haven’t had a full conversation with her since.”

“That’s understandable-- My sister is very shy. She does tend to fall in love with almost everyone she meets, though,” Takumi scoffed. “Poor kid, it’s going to hurt her at some point.”

“Yes…” Leo responded, looking at the slightly wilting vase of Chūrippu. The red Chūrippu seemed to have turned fully brown in the past days. “She is a very sweet girl, but I am a stranger to Hoshido, it would not be wise of her to interact with me on more than a doctor-patient relationship.”

“That’s really smart, actually,” Takumi looked down, as if he were contemplating something. “There’s been a lot of, uh, political tension in Hoshido in the recent years. It would only rise tensions if Sakura were to marry not only a complete stranger, but someone who’s not of Hoshidan nobility.”

“Political tension, huh?” Leo asked.

Takumi was about to speak when Hinoka slid open the door. She looked grim. Takumi looked towards her questioningly, then she spoke. “It’s mother.” 

Takumi’s eyes went wide as he stood, pushing past Hinoka and running down the hall. Hinoka turned towards Leo.

“My apologies,” She said and she closed the door and went after her brother. 

Leo was alone for the rest of the day.

And the next day. And the next.

There was no supervision, nothing but food and the saiko-keishi-to. There was nothing but nights spent in void, the irritating beeping surrounding him, and murmurs of a voice that was recognizable, but not identifiable. 

One night, he was shaken out of the void and back to Hoshido. There was someone by his bed. He sat up, alarmed, before he heard the intruder speak.

“L-Leo, stay ca-calm, it’s Sakura,” The princess said, quietly.

“Sakura? Why are you here so late?”

The princess was virtually invisible in the darkness of the room. “Just follow me, please. I’ll ex-explain.”

Leo stepped out of the bed, following the princess quietly to through the castle. She had grabbed his hand to lead him. The two crept through the corridors, almost silent. Every once in awhile Leo would look ahead, as if he could see where they were going. He eventually caught sight of light underneath a large door. There were voices coming from behind it. “...is in need of change! We cannot allow our rich to get richer while our poor get poorer!”

Leo pulled on Sakura’s hand, signalling for her to stop. 

“Takumi, you are young and naive. There is nothing like that happening in Hoshido. You are rarely out of the capital, you do not see what I see.”

Sakura gasped softly. “Ryoma and Takumi...this can’t be?”

Leo continued to listen. 

“YOU are just ignorant to the needs of the people! Every time I take a step outside of this castle I am bombarded with sights of starving families and theft to survive. I think you don’t see what I see. There has to be change, or else everyone in Hoshido will end up poor!”

“Be calm, brother. I can understand your bleeding heart will want to help these people, so they don’t have loss like ours, but I assure you, there is nothing we can do.”

“There is something. You just don’t want to do it. You’d rather people suffer!”

Sakura covered her mouth with her hand, as if she were trying to silence a sob.

There was a shout, and then arguing from behind the door. Leo took a step back, arm around Sakura in case, when there was a louder shout from whom Leo presumed was Ryoma.

“Silence! Takumi, as king of Hoshido, I cannot have the chances of someone who will hurt the people of Hoshido in my court, no matter if he is family or not. Takumi, I will have you stripped of your princely title. You are exiled from the Hoshidan capital.”

There was struggle from behind the door, and Leo led Sakura away from the light and into the shadow. They continued watching as Takumi was forced out of the room, kicked to the dirt, and the doors closed behind him. The fading light showed a face full of pure fear.

Sakura broke away from Leo and ran to her brother. “Takumi!” She said, kneeling by him. The former prince grabbed onto Sakura’s shoulders, then held her close. Leo took a few steps forward, unsure of his place in the moment. Takumi whispered something undecipherable to Sakura, then stood. Sakura stood with him, making sure he was steady.

“I must stop him,” Takumi said, looking back at the palace. “He’s going to drive Hoshido into the ground.” He pushed Sakura away and began walking towards the Capital city. 

“Let me come with you!” Sakura said, following after Takumi.

“No, Sakura, you’re safer here.”

Leo watched as the former prince left, escaping into darkness. Sakura’s sniffling caused Leo to turn and look at her with concern. “Sakura?” He asked, taking a step towards the princess.

“I-I...” She choked out, clutching her chest. “I was going to expl-plain the w-w-war, b-but...”

Leo stood by, unsure of what to do. “Orochi already explained it to me.”

“I’m s-sorry you ha-have to witness thi-this,” Sakura said, turning. “Pl-Please allow me to escort you to your r-room.”

Leo didn’t question, only followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #protectTakumi2k17


	8. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONCE AGAIN MONTH LONG HIATUS
> 
> I was busy with schoolwork, but after finals n stuff I started writing the chapter!  
> And here it is lmao
> 
> anyway enjoy! 
> 
> tumblr: kickthematthew

“--I will have you stripped of your princely title--”

_No._

“--You are now exiled from the Hoshidan capital.”

“No!” Takumi yelled, pulling forward as Saizo and Kagero grabbed onto his arms and dragged him towards the door of the throne room.

“It will be easier if you stop struggling,” Saizo growled.

Takumi didn’t stop. He kept pushing and trying to free himself from the ninja. 

Even as he was pushed out the door, landing on the dusty ground with a thud, Takumi watched as everything he’s ever known slipped through his fingers. Only moments after the doors closed did he hear his sister run to him.

“Takumi!” Sakura yelled, kneeling by him. Following her was her patient, Leo. The blonde looked awkward like he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing. 

Sakura’s face was covered with worry. Takumi pulled her in for a hug, still in shock.

Exiled from the Hoshidan capital.

“I must stop him,” Takumi said, the anger bubbling up inside him. He stood, pushing Sakura aside. “He’s going to drive Hoshido into the ground.” Takumi turned, heading towards the capital city. 

“Let me come with you!” Sakura pleaded, reaching out to her brother. 

Takumi turned swiftly. “No, Sakura, you're safer here.” He regretted the words right as he said them.

Before Sakura could say anything else, Takumi was already running down the path. He followed the well-worn trail, not needing any light to find his way. He had his plan in mind: Rally support, form an army and start the Reformist revolution. He already knew other politicians of the royal court who supported reform would be exiled also: there's was no choice but to fight back.

The trees and foliage melted into a dark blur. The sounds of night birds and rustling leaves were being drowned out by the panting of Takumi’s breath as he barreled down the trail. The moonlight shined through the branches, lighting the way every few steps for Takumi. As he ran, his mind raced with plans, ideas, and strategies. He tripped on a root of a tree, and fell forward onto the dirt. He grunted, starting to stand again when he heard other footsteps from behind him. 

“Lord Takumi!”

Following him, carrying her naginata came Oboro, and seconds later, Hinata. The two stumbled down the trail, unused to the darkness. Hinata carried the Fujin Yumi. As Hinata caught up to Takumi, he held out his liege’s weapon. 

“We found it in the courtyard. After you were...y’know, exiled, we left on our own accord to join you,” Oboro explained. 

“Guess we’re all rebels now, huh?” Hinata added, cracking a smile to try to lighten the mood. Neither Oboro nor Takumi found much comfort in the joke.

Oboro angrily sighed. “Hinata, you can’t just crack jokes like that so soon!” She continued to lecture the other retainer, who was taken aback by the short bluenette’s outburst. 

Takumi took a deep breath as the two argued in front of him. The weight of the bow’s frame was familiar in his hands, bringing a sense of comfort with it. Takumi loudly cleared his throat, which silenced the two retainers. “Thank you, Oboro and Hinata. It brings me great comfort to know you’ll be with me on this journey. I am...very blessed to have retainers-- and friends, like you.”

“Aw, Lord Takumi, you don’t need to flatter us like this!” Hinata said, beaming. “We’re only doing our jobs.”

“Even then, I appreciate it. Now, we should make haste, the royal guard will come by soon to make sure we’re nowhere near the capital. I have a plan-- it’s stupid, but it’s a plan. I’ll need to two to help me with the details,” Takumi said, starting to walk back down the path, motioning for them to follow him.

Oboro took some quick steps to catch up. “We shall assist you however we can, milord.”

“Thank you. Now, to explain…”

 

\---

There was a crash, a scream, a flash of blue light. Blurred colors danced across Leo’s vision, almost looking like...people. Suddenly, there was a loud blast. Leo turned quickly, the shapes becoming clearer. A plume of gray smoke billowed up from a canon. Shouting filled the air. As the noises grew, the lights increased also, the sound of metal on metal and metal on bone was becoming too much for Leo to bear…

He opened his eyes to find himself staring up at the stars. Sakura kneeled beside him, dabbing at his forehead with her sleeve. “Leo? Leo, come to, please..” She pleaded, continuing to dab what Leo could only assume to be sweat from his forehead.

“Did...did you see that?” Leo asked, attempting to sit up. Sakura pushed his shoulder down to prevent it.

“You mustn't sit up. What do you mean, if I saw ‘that’? What did you see?”

Leo looked back up at the stars for a moment. A warm breeze ruffled his hair, reminding him of when he had first arrived in Hoshido. “There were canons, lights, loud noises...how could you not notice?”

Sakura shook her head. “I couldn’t s-see anything...Leo, you had another seizure.”

“Then why…?”

“I don’t know... Let’s get you to your room, please.” She gingerly helped Leo sit up, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders to give him a crutch. They silently went through the halls of the palace, which seemed different than usual. Takumi’s exile brought an eeriness among the usually lively palace. 

It was still the late hours of the night, and as Leo was brought back to his room, he gazed at the moonlight shining on the pillow and asked himself what would happen.

“News of the exile will reach the capital and the rest of Hoshido by morning…” Sakura whispered as if she were reading what Leo’s thoughts were. Her voice sounded choked like she was holding back tears. 

And then she was. Large, hot tears were pouring from Sakura’s eyes. Leo glanced away for a moment, awkwardly. The princess stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around him tightly and quietly sobbed. 

“I’m sorry,” was all Leo could say.


End file.
